Horses, Dragon, and Tiger: A Trilogy of Dance Films
Free screenings of a trilogy of dance films by internationally acclaimed dancer, choreographer, and filmmaker Daniel Belton The trilogy includes a screening of Daniel Belton’s new work, HORSES.
Wed 18 Feb 2026, 11am, 11.30am, and 5pm
Thu 19 Feb 2026, 11am, 11.30am, and 5pm
Sat 21 Feb 2026, 4.30pm and 6.15pm
Soundings Theatre, Level 2
Free, with museum entry
HORSES completes the trilogy of films TIGER (Silver-Lotus), and DRAGON created by Daniel Belton and shown at previous celebrations of the Lunar New Year in Wellington.
HORSES draws inspiration from the Chinese Zodiac sign for 2026, the fire horse, bringing together a fantastic team of Aotearoa hip hop artists, Joshua and Tyler Faleatua, taonga puoro musicians, Mahina Kingi-Kaui and Ariana Tikao, collaborating Tokyo-based dance artists, Ririka Takizawa, Karim Araoka, and Nao Kamei, and New Zealand-Japanese musician Mark de Clive-Lowe.
The mix of Asian and Pacific arts voices creates a unique experience for audiences, championing the physical prowess and beauty of the majestic horse through a fusion of traditional and contemporary performing arts.
TIGER is a high energy dance opus to celebrate the great cat in the meadow of our consciousness, and makes a bow to the sister peaks Mount Fuji in Japan and Mount Taranaki in Aotearoa New Zealand. In ancient oriental philosophy, Yin and Yang describes how contrary forces may actually be complementary, interconnected, and interdependent in the natural world – they give rise to each other as they interrelate to one another, cultivating diversity.
Promotional image of Tiger, courtesy of Daniel Belton
DRAGON is a high-energy dance-theatre film, cut to music by Mark de Clive-Lowe, with renowned taonga puoro musicians Mahina Kingi-Kaui and Alister Fraser. The film also features Wellington-based dancers Airu Matsuda, Samara Reweti, and artists of Idiot Savant from Japan. Through the power of digital dance- theatre, motion graphics and music, DRAGON raises awareness of the ecological issues we face on a global scale. Symbolism of the dragon weaves visceral performances with natural environments to celebrate a treasured earth and to speak to the custodial role of humankind.
Promotional image of Dragon, courtesy of Daniel Belton